Is this any kind of a decent deal?

[Sam Shankar]

Hi turners,

I'm taking my first lathe class next week. And of course, the tool acquisition bug has already set in.

There's an ad up near me for the following list of secondhand gear, all in "excellent" shape. Asking price is $1500...this feels steep, but I'm a noob in this area. Any opinions? In addition to knick knacks, I want to be able to do furniture spindles and get started on bowls.

(1) Jet 1221VS
(1) Jet stand
(1) diy disc sanding jig
(1) Nova chuck w/ many jaws
(5) Custom SS tool rests
(4) Carbide chisels & many replacement inserts
(1) Pen mandrel w/ kit
(1) MT2 Drill chuck
(3) HSS chisels w/ Vari-grind sharpening jig
Misc (spindle tap, mt2 tailstock, faceplates, sanding strips)
ad1.jpgad2.jpglathe.jpgad5.jpg

[Tim Elett]

Looks like enough to keep you from buying extra, after the lathe purchase, I have no experience with the lathe

[roger wiegand]

After your class and getting a feeling for various projects you may decide you want a bigger lathe than that to start with, and you may, with instruction, find that you prefer traditional tools to carbide. Or you may not. I think you might do better to get at least a bit of experience first and develop an opinion about what you want to start turning.

The lathe sells new for $850 on Amazon. You can look up the other stuff. The price seems a little optimistic unless there's something I'm not seeing about the level of the tools.

[Earl McLain]

I'm with Roger, looks like everything together would have been (or should have been) in the $1,700-$1,800 range new unless i'm missing something. Square handles on the carbides would not work for me, though the ferrule work looks nice. I've also come to appreciate a comfort-style tool rest--i tend to keep my left hand underhand with index finger setting the depth, so the center post in the same plan bumps my finger out every time i hit it. So...for me the tool rests would have minimal value if that makes sense.
Easy to catch the bug--i've got it bad!! Good luck in your journey!!
earl

[Dave Fritz]

No matter how much I studied things I ended up having to try things to really tell if it would work for me. I have the same lathe and it was my first. Now I have that and a Robust Liberty 16 inch lathe. As my health goes to pot I find myself seated at the Jet most often. In my experience you don't hit a bulls eye, you try to get close. Welcome to the journey, it's never ending and fun to make things to give to family and friends. You know you've arrived at the first level of success when your kids actually ask for things. LOL

[Sam Shankar]

You know you've arrived at the first level of success when your kids actually ask for things. LOL

Like "Dad, can you stop trying to teach us woodworking?"